


Party Lines

by ThePraxianWeasleyGeek



Series: Christmas giftfics 2018 [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Politics, Established Relationship, F/M, Human AU, Inspired by The Thick of It, Kinda, Politician Allura, Secret Relationship, Spin Doctor Lotor, The Thick of It AU (?)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-26
Updated: 2018-12-26
Packaged: 2019-09-28 03:15:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17174810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThePraxianWeasleyGeek/pseuds/ThePraxianWeasleyGeek
Summary: ... These two can't seem to resist crossing them.





	Party Lines

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TheNumberFour](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheNumberFour/gifts).



> So, full disclosure: the only things I know about Voltron/these characters/this ship are what I've gleaned from the wiki, tumblr tags, and clips on youtube. But my friend loves Lotura, and so for Christmas, Lotura she shall have! I just hope I did them justice. 
> 
> The whole politics angle here is HEAVILY influenced by my love of The Thick Of It, and anything else is based around my knowledge of the UK political system in particular.

Lotor was loitering again. 

 

Or rather, he was back to his usual schedule of loitering, after a prolonged absence, and accordingly all who passed him eyed him warily; for they were not yet at the stage of proceedings where his current employment status was known. 

 

He’d been spotted in various locations over the course of the morning: lounging against a wall in the foyer; staring intently out of a window on the top level; scaring everyone away from the water cooler on the second floor with his proximity. Of course, as with other cryptids, it was hard to verify all the reports, but there were too many sightings for it to be written off as isolated hysteria. 

 

The one upside to his appearance was everyone now  _ knew _ the Policy team had been covering a major fuckup - their terror of Lotor sniffing it out finally making their overall shiftiness overt, rather than merely suspected. 

 

When Allura tracked him down, he was hiding behind the oversized pot plant in the corner next to Coran’s office. 

 

“You won’t find anything incriminating back there, you know.”

 

“Oh, you’d be surprised.” Lotor grinned. “The upkeep of this plant, for example. Shockingly dehydrated, clear signs of neglect. I thought you were supposed to be the ones who care about the environment.”

 

Allura’s mouth twisted. 

 

“I’m sure I could dignify that with a response, if I wasn’t equally sure I’d be misquoted through half the tabloids by lunchtime.”

 

“Tabloids?” He clutched at his chest dramatically, and the glint of amusement never left his eye. “My dear, your expectations wound me. To think that I’d sink so low for the likes of yourself!” 

 

“I _ expected _ to find you sellotaping files from the shredder,” she said tartly, and finally stepped into the corner to join him. 

 

Surreptitiously, she swung her hand forward to twine her fingers with his - the hand that was  _ not _ visible from the rest of the corridor, and all the while glancing nervously over her shoulder, scanning for passersby. 

 

Allura squeaked as Lotor’s free hand came up to cup her face, that little half-smile still present, but now oddly intense. 

 

“There’s no cameras that can see this corner,” he assured her. “And really, who’d trek down here just to visit that odd little advisor of yours?” 

 

“Rich,” said Allura, “coming from an odd little spin-doctor” - and she kissed him. 

 

She could never quite tell if it was something  _ about _ Lotor, or simply the illicit nature of their relationship, that gave her such a thrill even from little trysts like these. What she did know, as he wrapped his arms around her waist, pressing hungrily into her mouth, was that despite this being illicit -  _ dangerous _ , even - Lotor was worth the risk. 

 

Allura pushed her hands through his hair, knocking askew that ridiculous ponytail that he genuinely seemed to think made him look at all professional; and then she stopped worrying about silly things like appearances, because the sound Lotor made as she tugged on his hair shot straight to her core, and she needed to hear it again.

 

He growled, catching her lower lip between his teeth for a moment - and then, without warning, swinging Allura around until she was up against the wall. Lotor now had his hands in  _ her _ hair, pulling it completely out of its sensible bun, as he kissed his way along her jaw until he could nip at her ear. 

 

It was ridiculous, really, how easily he could undo her; because here she was, breathless and in disarray after only a few seconds. 

 

That wouldn't do at all. She cupped Lotor’s jaw and dragged his mouth back to hers, pushing her tongue past his lips before he could even think about resisting. Not that she should've worried - Lotor groaned and pushed himself full length against her, his own hand rising to hold hers insistently in place against his cheek. 

 

A door slammed, perhaps a corridor away, and he gave a sudden start, stumbling backwards. Ever so slightly dazed, Allura inhaled deeply in a bid to buy some time to collect herself. It wasn't all that effective. 

 

Lotor seemed to have recovered - the intensity in his eyes had been replaced with something rather harried. Allura recalled once more that he was deep in enemy territory at worst, surrounded by hostile forces at best, and above all mistrusted by her entire department, though at present that seemed a rather distant concern. 

 

He cleared his throat, giving her an awkward, sideways glance. “It would be… unwise, to continue this here.” 

 

“Hm.” Finally feeling her heart rate slowing, Allura pushed off from the wall. “And that's a hint, I suppose, that you wouldn't be averse to continuing it  _ elsewhere _ .” 

 

“I wouldn't.” Lotor looked like he wanted to smile, and was simultaneously thinking better of it - until he caught sight of something that seemed to alarm him. 

 

“Your hair.”

 

“Oh!” Allura’s hand flew up to where her bun had come unbound. “Yes, that… That would look…” 

 

Squaring her shoulders, she turned her back to Lotor. 

 

“... Would you? Please?”

 

He stepped up behind her and paused, hands buried in her hair and far from busying themselves in fixing what he'd done. Allura smiled wryly, though Lotor couldn't see it. 

 

“I should  _ hope _ you know how to do this.”

 

“ _ Ahem _ . Yes. Of course.” He started gathering it back into a ponytail. “... I wish you’d leave it down.”

 

“What, just on the off chance that you might walk in and see it? I think we both know that's impractical.”

 

“I'm afraid that doesn't stop me wishing it.” 

 

Allura closed her eyes as he wound her hair up into its customary knot, securing it slightly haphazardly. The pins were probably still scattered over the floor; a thought that seemed to have occurred to Lotor, too. 

 

“I'm sorry,” he said softly. “I didn't intend to… cause trouble for you.”

 

“Oh, don't worry about that, I'd say I'm about as responsible as you. Kissing an Opposition press officer - or is it ‘freelance journalist’, at the moment, or just unemployed posh layabout?”

 

His hands stilled their work and came to rest on her shoulders, thumbs rubbing circles over her shirt. 

 

“I'm not working for my father at the minute, no. In official  _ or _ unofficial capacity. He doesn't know I'm here; with you or in the capital, or possibly even the country.”

 

“And how long is that going to last, do you think?”

 

“I really couldn't say.” He paused, hummed in contemplation. “I  _ could _ , however, tell you that”- 

 

“Shh.” Allura twisted round and pressed her fingers to his lips. His eyes widened, and he inhaled through his nose.  

 

“I don't want to know right now. Maybe the next time they try to slander us with whatever Sendak thinks he's dug up.”

 

Lotor’s smile was rather humourless. “On your head be it.”

 

“I'd like to look like someone who knows nothing about whatever’s coming. And I'd like to look like that because it's true, because I try not to engage in this sort of thing.” 

 

“Says the woman who just kissed an Opposition press officer.” 

 

“Right now,” said Allura, raising her voice ever so slightly - because wasn't it just like Lotor to start bringing up the difficult things - “All I want to know is the name and room number of the hotel you're staying at.”

 

Smiling much more sincerely now, Lotor dug in his pocket and handed her a key card. 

 

“Much obliged.” She kissed his cheek, tucked the card away up her sleeve, and gave him a gentle push to send him on his way. “I’ll see you this evening.”

 

Of course, as Lotor complied, he couldn't resist a parting shot. 

 

“By the way - don’t worry about the Policy database thing. It’s not of nearly as much interest to my lot as your team seems to think.” 

  
  
  
  



End file.
